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Antioxidants (food additives) — a list of species, their action and use

Antioxidants (food additives) — a list of species, their action and use, properties (benefits and harms) of these substances, as well as their effect on the body

Antioxidants or Antioxidants are natural or synthetic substances that slow down the oxidation process. They are also called oxidation inhibitors. In its natural form, antioxidants are found in vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, in some cereals, as well as in coffee and green tea. Thus, it is obvious that constantly the previously mentioned substances enter the human body. In addition, antioxidants, both naturally occurring and synthesized (food additives under codes from E300 to E399), can be seen in the list of ingredients of many products (all kinds of canned food, wine, beer, soft drinks, confectionery, containing fats, various oils). So what role do antioxidants play in our lives, are they beneficial or not, what is their use? With these questions we have to understand further!

First of all, in order to understand what antioxidants are, you need to deal with what they are, that is, find out what kinds of them exist. Conventionally, antioxidants are divided into two types: natural or natural as well as synthetic.

Natural antioxidants include:

enzyme antioxidants, which are enzymes (their main mission to be catalysts of metabolic processes);

low-molecular compounds (vitamins, micro-, and also macro-elements, the lack of which leads to the acceleration of oxidation processes in the body, which not only provokes premature aging, but also all sorts of diseases);

hormones that are produced in the body through the endocrine glands.

Antioxidants synthetic are nothing more than derivatives of phenols, which include esters of gallic acid. In fact, these are the same vitamins, only synthesized in the laboratory.

The action of natural antioxidants in the human body, primarily aimed at combating oxidative processes. This means that these substances restore the cellular structure disturbed by a completely natural oxidation process. However, in this case, we are more interested in what is the effect of antioxidants on food, that is, on those foods to which they are added in one form or another.

As you know, all products are subject to damage. It can be not only microbiological, but also oxidizing. If in the first case, preservatives will become true helpers, in the second case — antioxidants. They prevent the oxidation of fats in food, as well as the ability to destroy the already formed peroxides. Thus, it is possible to extend the shelf life of products containing fats.

The use of antioxidants as food additives is possible in such industries of the food industry:

production of oil and fat products;

the production of confectionery products containing fats;

milk production;

meat and sausage production;

fish production;

frozen food production;

production of concentrates, as well as dry soups and broths, etc.

Thus, it can be seen that the scope of application of antioxidants (antioxidants) is associated with the production of those products that contain fats. Thanks to these substances, it is possible to extend the shelf life of food products. But is it useful?

On the properties of antioxidants useful and harmful to the human body has long been heated debate. Of course, natural antioxidants in reasonable quantities are only beneficial for humans, which cannot be said about their synthetic counterparts. Some of them may not have any effect on the body, and some may be very, very dangerous. Benefits they definitely will not bring health, which has been repeatedly proved by scientists during various experiments with such substances. Even synthetic vitamins, analogues of natural vitamins, can hardly be called useful. They possess absolutely not the same biological activity as their natural variants. Therefore, we can give you only one advice: include in your diet more fresh vegetables and fruits, and reduce the consumption of various semi-finished products to a minimum, then antioxidants will bring only benefit to your body!

A complete list of synthetic and natural antioxidants, as well as their detailed description, can be found in this section of the site. All food additives in the coding from E300 to E399 are painted in as much detail as possible, and therefore you can find out about the production of which foods they use, what role they play, and what influence they have on the human body.